The genomic origin of early maize in eastern North America

Jazmín Ramos-Madrigal; Gayle J. Fritz; Bryon Schroeder; Bruce Smith; Fátima Sánchez-Barreiro; Christian Carøe; Anne Kathrine Wiborg Runge; Sarah Boer; Krista McGrath; Filipe G. Vieira; Shanlin Liu; Rute R. da Fonseca; Chunxue Guo; Guojie Zhang; Bent Petersen; Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén; Shyam Gopalakrishnan; M. Thomas P. Gilbert; Nathan Wales

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.003

The genomic origin of early maize in eastern North America

Jazmín Ramos-Madrigal^*, Gayle J. Fritz, Bryon Schroeder, Bruce Smith, Fátima Sánchez-Barreiro, Christian Carøe, Anne Kathrine Wiborg Runge, Sarah Boer, Krista McGrath, Filipe G. Vieira, Shanlin Liu, Rute R. da Fonseca, Chunxue Guo, Guojie Zhang, Bent Petersen, Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Nathan Wales^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Indigenous maize varieties from eastern North America have played an outsized role in breeding programs, yet their early origins are not fully understood. We generated paleogenomic data to reconstruct how maize first reached this region and how it was selected during the process. Genomic ancestry analyses reveal recurrent movements northward from different parts of Mexico, likely culminating in at least two dispersals from the US Southwest across the Great Plains to the Ozarks and beyond. We find that 1,000-year-old Ozark specimens carry a highly differentiated wx1 gene, which is involved in the synthesis of amylose, highlighting repeated selective pressures on the starch metabolic pathway throughout maize's domestication. This population shows a close affinity with the lineage that ultimately became the Northern Flints, a major contributor to modern commercial maize.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	33-43.e16
Number of pages	11
Journal	Cell
Volume	188
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.003
Publication status	Published - 9 Jan 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier Inc. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.

Keywords

ancient DNA
domestication
evolution
maize
maize genomics
paleogenomics
starch pathway
wx1

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10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.003

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© 2024 Elsevier Inc. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.
Accepted author manuscript, 5 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Ramos-Madrigal, J., Fritz, G. J., Schroeder, B., Smith, B., Sánchez-Barreiro, F., Carøe, C., Runge, A. K. W., Boer, S., McGrath, K., Vieira, F. G., Liu, S., da Fonseca, R. R., Guo, C., Zhang, G., Petersen, B., Sicheritz-Pontén, T., Gopalakrishnan, S., Gilbert, M. T. P., & Wales, N. (2025). The genomic origin of early maize in eastern North America. Cell, 188(1), 33-43.e16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.003

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abstract = "Indigenous maize varieties from eastern North America have played an outsized role in breeding programs, yet their early origins are not fully understood. We generated paleogenomic data to reconstruct how maize first reached this region and how it was selected during the process. Genomic ancestry analyses reveal recurrent movements northward from different parts of Mexico, likely culminating in at least two dispersals from the US Southwest across the Great Plains to the Ozarks and beyond. We find that 1,000-year-old Ozark specimens carry a highly differentiated wx1 gene, which is involved in the synthesis of amylose, highlighting repeated selective pressures on the starch metabolic pathway throughout maize's domestication. This population shows a close affinity with the lineage that ultimately became the Northern Flints, a major contributor to modern commercial maize.",

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Ramos-Madrigal, J, Fritz, GJ, Schroeder, B, Smith, B, Sánchez-Barreiro, F, Carøe, C, Runge, AKW, Boer, S, McGrath, K, Vieira, FG, Liu, S, da Fonseca, RR, Guo, C, Zhang, G, Petersen, B, Sicheritz-Pontén, T, Gopalakrishnan, S, Gilbert, MTP & Wales, N 2025, 'The genomic origin of early maize in eastern North America', Cell, vol. 188, no. 1, pp. 33-43.e16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.003

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AU - McGrath, Krista

AU - Vieira, Filipe G.

AU - Liu, Shanlin

AU - da Fonseca, Rute R.

AU - Guo, Chunxue

AU - Zhang, Guojie

AU - Petersen, Bent

AU - Sicheritz-Pontén, Thomas

AU - Gopalakrishnan, Shyam

AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas P.

AU - Wales, Nathan

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The genomic origin of early maize in eastern North America

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Jazmín Ramos Madrigal

Using ancient DNA to understand maize's movement into eastern North America

Maize palaeogenomics: identifying crop evolution and diffusion

Cite this

The genomic origin of early maize in eastern North America

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Activities

Jazmín Ramos Madrigal

Using ancient DNA to understand maize's movement into eastern North America

Maize palaeogenomics: identifying crop evolution and diffusion

Cite this